Operator group Iliad booked increased revenue across its operations for Q3, pointing to its best performance since 2012 in its French fixed business and the addition of more than half a million connections in its Italian unit.

In its quarterly business update, the company said Iliad Italia recorded “a very high number of net adds despite ongoing targeted and very aggressively-priced offerings launched by competitors”.

The 580,000 connections added take its total to 6.8 million, a feat the company claimed meant it held almost 9 per cent of the Italian market having only launched in May 2018.

Iliad noted its ongoing network rollout in the country was ahead of plan, with a goal of 5,000 active infrastructure sites by end-2020 achieved two months early.

Revenue from Iliad Italia was €171 million, up 56 per cent year-on-year and contributing 12 per cent of total group revenue compared with 8 per cent in Q3 2019.

Home wins
Its French business, operating under the Free brand, recorded a 1.9 per cent increase in revenue to €1.25 billion.

Iliad noted the quarter had been a strong one for its fixed unit, with a 99,000 rise its best quarterly performance in terms of net additions since Q4 2012. In its mobile business, the company noted market improvements on Q2, which had been adversely impacted by factors related to the pandemic.

It added trends including decreased roaming revenue and lower device sales continued from Q2 into Q3, but pointed to an increased number of users taking 4G plans. Mobile service revenue was up 2.4 per cent year-on-year.

Group revenue increased 6.3 per cent to €1.4 billion. The company does not report profit on a quarterly basis.

During Q3 the company announced its intention to acquire Polish operator Play, a move which was subsequently given the green light by European Commission regulators in October.

Iliad said the move was “paving the way for a new chapter in the group’s history”.